Notes from practice · D.C. Superior Court
Jamison Koehler has written about criminal defense and protection orders in Washington, D.C. since 2010: case results, D.C. Court of Appeals decisions, the rules of evidence, and what actually happens at 500 Indiana Avenue. Hundreds of posts, searchable by topic.
Limiting re-cross examination in Sanchez v. U.S.
Criminal defendants have a constitutional right to confront their accusers. In D.C., however, this right does not necessarily extend to recross examination....
Lousy plea offers. More trials.
We got spoiled during the pandemic with favorable plea offers. The government was trying to resolve as many cases as possible. Those times are over....
Checking the room for U.S. Marshalls
Judges love to keep us in suspense. Before announcing a verdict, they like to give us a detailed description of their reasoning. This can be...
T.W. and the “jump out” cops in D.C.
All over the District, young black men are lifting their shirts to show their waists as the unmarked cars cruise past. This is because of...
On searching a car after POCA arrest in Smith v. U.S.
Even if officers had legal basis for searching the car based on the fact that POCA is an arrestable offense, they still did not have...
Trial Transcript: “Bad karma” and other deadly threats
BY RESPONDENT’S COUNSEL Q: Okay. And at some point – Mr. Jones is from Russia, right? A: Yes. Q: And at some point he came...
On ineffective assistance of counsel in Dugger v. U.S.
Jamison Koehler
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09/02/2023
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A seasoned criminal defense lawyer was replaced by someone who had never before tried a criminal case. Not surprisingly, things did not go well for...
Rest in Peace, Noah Clements
Friend and former colleague Noah Clements died last night, just after 11:00 pm. He leaves behind his wife and their three children: Wiley, Eric, and...
Eliminating uncertainty through a Rule 11(c)(1)(C) plea
Rule 11 of the D.C. Rules of Criminal Procedure provides for a plea agreement in which both sides agree on the sentence that will be...
Cross-examining the “unreliable narrator”
Our goal as criminal defense attorneys is to turn opposing witnesses into unreliable narrators: Storytellers who should be punished for violating our trust....
On “true threats” in Counterman v. Colorado
For a threat to be unprotected by the First Amendment, the prosecution must prove that the defendant subjectively understood that the statement could be perceived...
Narrowing the scope of D.C.’s stalking statute in Mashaud v. Boone
Jamison Koehler
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07/14/2023
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In Mashaud v. Boone, the D.C. Court of Appeals limited the scope of unprotected speech under District’s stalking statute to threats, obscenity, defamation, fraud, incitement,...
The Alibi defense in D.C.
From the Latin for “elsewhere,” an alibi defense is based on the physical impossibility of a defendant’s guilt: the defendant could not have committed the crime...
On “offensive touching” assault in D.C.
The defendant “poked” the complainant somewhere on the body after having been specifically admonished not to do so. Such an “offensive touching” constituted a criminal assault. ...
Quashing a CPO Petition in D.C.
The court’s ability to hear a CPO matter in Washington, D.C. requires proof of an “intra-family offense” with sufficient connection to the District....